Jessica gets her Air Bags

[MeenZ28]

Was able to swap out the angle fittings in the block for straight after all so i have all the fittings for the bags now. I took some little time today and assembled the brackets to the bags just to get that done. Finished up the wiring on the compressors too. Must have done it all right cause with the key to on the compressors came to life. Yay! Truly all the compressor sytem is done now. All thats left is install the bags and brackets and run the air lines to the valve block and its done.

Had a thought today though. For such a high dollar system you'd think they could throw in one more gauge to show the psi in the tank. Im sure i could get one latter on down the road (probably put it in that third spot in the gauge panel) but come on Ridetech.

[MeenZ28]

Wish I had more of an update but I think it best to wait till I have the new a arm bushings in hand before I tackle the front bags. I may actually try and get the rears (since those should be realitivly easy compaired to the fronts) in this weekend but we'll see.

[MeenZ28]

Ok, so i decided (with my wifes permision) to go ahead and buy the third air pressure gauge, fittings, and line to keep an eye on the pressure in the tank. I really think ridetech should include this but nothing i can do about it now. So another $60 into this project. At least that gauge panel will look complete now. Hahaha

[MeenZ28]

Happy Pi Day everyone! I got my Pi Day Presents in the mail today!


Going to work on putting the third gauge in later tonight once it cools down (got up to 95 degrees today)...

[MeenZ28]

Little delayed in the project (life gets in the way sometimes) but I did get the third gauge installed on Thursday. Does kinda bug me the bezel is chrome and the others are black. Chances are I'll fix that at some point. Maybe buy 3 white face gauges some day...

I also installed a pressure relief (pop off) valve in the tank rated to 165 psi... just as an added safety precaution. Not sure how necissary it is but if the pressure switch ever fails and doesn't cut the compressors off at 150psi like it should this little thing will pop once the tank hits 165. Even though the tank should be more than capible of handling 300+ I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'm going to install at least the rear bags today. Look forward to a pic assalt LOL.

[hoogiesngrinderz]

Glad to hear you installed a pop off valve. I assumed Ride Tech provided one, I'd never run a tank without one!

Let me know if you find gauges you like...I happen to need two dual needle gauges

[MeenZ28]

Good to know I'll keep you in mind.
Progress is nice. I'll post a before pic of the car for compairison sake.

Wheels are off and springs are out...


First thing I did was trim the bump stops. Ridetech says they need to be cut down to 1.5" - 1" for the car to drop to its lowest. No problem...

More to come....

[formula218]

a little plastidip would fix that gauge bezel.

[MeenZ28]

true plastidip would work... Ill think about it.

Almost finished. Had to take a break cause i have dinner plans with my parents. Ill finish up tomorrow morning and post pics before going to the race in Fontana. Stay tuned.

[MeenZ28]

Well I'm done with the rears and I'm happy. Not as happy as I could be but I'm happy. I'll explain why at the end.
Got the shocks removed and test fited the lower plates...

Quick shot of the spring pocket...

Grabbed the bag/bracket assembly....

And installed the air line.

Thinking ahead I ran the air line threw a piece of hose anywhere the line was going to make a sharp turn or might rub up against anything. Leaks are not something I want to have to chase down in the future.
Then gently possitioned the bag up in the spring pocket. It's attached by the shock and a single carage bolt that bolts threw the inner fender.

Once the shock was reinstalled it was time to run the air lines.

I made a couple holes in the side of the spare tire cubby to run the lines up to the valve block. A couple rubber gromets and viola...


Everything is plumbed and ready to test...

[MeenZ28]

Finished pics....
Face down ass in the air...

and fully aired out...

There you have it. The rears are done. The only reason I'm not 100% happy is that the rear could techinally drop another 1/2" - 1" but the fender comes down and sits on the tire. Not Ridetech's or the system's problem it's that I'm running a 275 tire on a 10" wheel in the rear and with the offset of these wheels, the only way it's going to come down any more is if I go with a thinner tire and have the stretched look (not happening) or I find a way to pull the fenders out.... they're alreay rolled.... so for now it is what it is and I'm a good 90% happy with the job. Next we do the fronts. Won't be for a couple weeks....

[MeenZ28]

Do you think if I rented or went to a place that has one of those Eastwood fender roller tools I'd be able to have the fenders "rolled/flared" out enough to clear the tire? I mean I'd only need like a 1/4" - 1/2" flare to get her to sit down past the tire.... The fenders are already rolled but only by BFH method. Not perfessional at all. Maybe if it was done properly It'd help?

[C2YT]

I think it looks pretty damn good how it sits. Don't keep yourself up at night over 1/2 and inch.

[formula218]

Do you think if I rented or went to a place that has one of those Eastwood fender roller tools I'd be able to have the fenders "rolled/flared" out enough to clear the tire? I mean I'd only need like a 1/4" - 1/2" flare to get her to sit down past the tire.... The fenders are already rolled but only by BFH method. Not perfessional at all. Maybe if it was done properly It'd help?

with a roller you could differentially flare out the lip of your wheel arch. it sounds like you could just flair out the vertical lip of the wheel arch at the top and it would solve your problem.

[MeenZ28]

That's what I was thinking. Maybe I'll explore that at some point in the next couple weeks.